Romeo And Julliet

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Introduction

With reference to the language and events of act 1, how does Shakespeare prepare his audience for the events which occur later in the play? Over the past four hundred years, the famous play, Romeo and Juliet, has inspired many readers across the world. The classic play, written by famous playwright William Shakespeare has captured and will continue to capture people's minds. The main question that rises is why this play has been performed on stage for so long. The story consists of two star-crossed ' lovers who fall in love at first sight. For generations people saw this play as a reflection of their own life and experiences. Shakespeare parts in the play to prepare the audience for later events and this may have proved why it has been such a success. I think that Shakespeare created a play like this to show people that ancient grudges can become very dangerous and that they can lead to tragedy, as they did in this. Showing the audience that violence and feud never work out well. He also may have used the final outcome to present a moral meaning and to show his audience that good overcomes evil. We are told the outline of the story at the very start in the prologue and shown that the inevitable will happen and that the two lovers in the play will kill themselves, "a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life." This shows that the destiny or fate of the two lovers has already been decided. The prologue for a modern day audience would spoil the whole play but back in the days of Shakespeare the audiences were far more ruthless and some would even throw rotten food at the actors. ...read more.

Middle

further for death or tragedy which will occur later in the play "shall bitterly begin his fearful date," Romeo is most likely to be referring to the day he dies, he also shares the idea that somehow the duration of their life or relationship is cut short , "expire the term," But despite these premonitions Romeo goes ahead and enters the Capulet's house giving us the impression that Romeo is not in full control of his life and he may be making rash decisions, Shakespeare most likely used this to show the audience that careless judgements may occur in the future. There is also the impression that Romeo is being guided by God, "But he who steerage of my course." Scene 5 is when the lovers first meet and it is used to show the audience how quickly the love between the two is rapidly building. In lines 41-50 the audience is presented with Romeo in a dreamy and obsessed mood as Romeo throws many complements to Juliet which are cheesy. Shakespeare may have used this sense of obsession gives a slight hint towards any impulsive, rash or emotional behaviour to follow. Shakespeare may be using these lines to build a false sense of security and persuading the audience that the final outcome will be a happy one. However he uses a strong contrast to rule out this, "To strike him dead I hold not a sin," he also may have used this quote in the hope of showing that this relationship will be kept in secret. We are also given another quote which is preparing the audience for negative outcomes in the future, "Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting," indicating that the presence of Romeo will lead to consequences. ...read more.

Conclusion

This allows the play to be more significant and it lets it seem more realistic, "O woe! O woeful, woeful, woeful day!" Great meaning is added to the play in the closing scenes. Shakespeare uses these last few scenes not only to make true the earlier predictions but to present a moral meaning to the audience. He uses poison to represent death it also gives a heightened sense of fear. Shakespeare shows that fate did not play a part in the play and that Romeo made his decisions out of free will "Then I defy you, stars!" He says this when Juliet is dead and he says that he will go against fate by joining Juliet in death, which is adding to the increased sorrow and grief. The play is rounded off showing the audience that peace has resulted between the two families as a result of Romeo and Juliet's death. "For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo." Even though the final outcome of this play may be a depressing and sad one, it fits with the earlier predictions earlier in the play. The way Shakespeare has prepared us through earlier hints it does not seem as sad and it allows the audience to accept the outcome better. The end also presents us with the thought that ancient grudges do not solve anything but instead make matters worse. I think that the use of these hints and indications of future events allowed the play to be a lot more than a tragedy. They increased the suspense and led to more drama. The play of Romeo and Juliet showed the brilliance of Shakespeare and there is no wonder why he is one of the most famous playwrights of all time. ?? ?? ?? ?? ...read more.

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